S.B. 599 amends the law regarding the collection of debts
owed to the court or owed under an order of restitution. The
main features of the bill include the following:

costs of collection shall be an additional cost, as an administrative fee, to be paid by the defendant in all criminal, traffic,
and juvenile offender cases;

each collection contract will provide for the fee for collection
services which will not exceed 33 percent of the actual
amount collected; and

the effective date is publication in the Kansas Register.

Background

Appearing in support of the bill were a Shawnee County
Administrative Judge, an official from the Attorney General's
Office, and the delegate representing the Kansas Community
Alcohol Safety Action Project Coordinators Association. Letters
of support were received from two other administrative judges, a
district court judge, and two court trustees.

The fiscal note indicates that the Office of Judicial Administration cannot estimate the fiscal impact the bill would have on
court fees since there are no provisions for the distribution of
monies when the amount due is not paid in full.

1. *Supplemental notes are prepared by the Legislative Research
Department and do not express legislative intent. The supplemental
note and fiscal note for this bill may be accessed on the Internet at
http://www.ink.org/public/legislative/fulltext-bill.html.